Entries from February 28th, 2014

Feb 28, 2014

Check out this month’s Instagram round-up from staff at our head office and EQ3 retail stores.

Take design recommendations from Thom and Jill’s Instagrams. They both snapped shots of Muji product (always gorgeous!), proving that great minds really do think alike. Then warm up with Seema’s rich and earthy colour palette. Heather and Chantal show off their morning beverages of choice. Finally, enjoy a snowy, birds-eye view that Carla captured while jetting to Mexico for work.

Feb 27, 2014

Blogger's StyleComments Off on Blogger’s Style: Mackenzie Clarke from The Standard Issue

Mackenzie Clarke is EQ3’s February Blogger of the Month! Mackenzie is the Co-Founder and Editor of The Standard Issue, a Calgary-based blog that shares the best Canadian shops, spots and emerging talent! She blogs on everything from home decor and fashion, to music, food and drink, travel, and more…all with a focus on local style.

Today, Mackenzie’s showing us how she’s worked EQ3’s popular Round Solid Teak Wood Stool into her home office – the space where all The Standard Issue magic happens!

There is nothing better than a bright and fresh space to spend your working day, and my home office is my favourite place to be with tons of light and room to get things done. In addition to being a cozy spot to work in the evenings, this is also one of those spaces that has to transform daily to meet the needs of our small business. It is a room where it, and everything in it, need to play double duty on more than one occasion.

“I appreciate a natural palette when decorating all areas of my home, and this Solid Teak Wood Stool is the perfect accent to, well, everything! Whether I’m in a modern mood or feeling a little more eclectic with my styling, this piece really works in every situation. Great for someone known to switch it up often! It is currently ideal as a spot to house a little greenery, and has already saved the day as an impromptu step stool as we finish off hanging art in our living room. From nightstand to foot stool to the perfect perch for a cocktail during a night with friends, it becomes a statement in any space.” – Mackenzie Clarke, The Standard Issue

Feb 25, 2014

The Eames Molded Fiberglass Chair was originally designed in 1950 by husband and wife design duo Charles and Ray Eames, and was manufactured by Herman Miller. This mid-century modern classic has been a fixture in the design world for years, and is loved by many. The fiberglass chair was discontinued in 1980, but next week, Herman Miller is reintroducing the Eames Molded Fiberglass Chair!

Last fall, the EQ3 Winnipeg store hosted Eames Design Thinking: 36 Years On – a design event featuring keynote speaker Eames Demetrios, Director of The Eames Office and the grandson of Charles and Ray Eames. We were thrilled to see local architects, designers, and design buffs line up outside the EQ3 store, eager for the doors to open, but when we spotted Emil (a local engineering student) standing in line with a vintage Eames Shell Chair tucked under his arm…well, we got really excited!

He brought the chair in the hopes of getting it signed by Eames Demetrios. Eames was very gracious, and before his presentation, he wrote out a personal note for Emil on the chair’s back rest. Emil was on a real high as he walked away from his meeting with Eames. It was a fun little scene to watch.

“It’s just a chair that I’ve been familiar with for a very long time,” says Emil when we asked him about the personal history of the chair. It was Emil’s first Eames Chair, and it’s been in his family for years. His mother had owned one of these iconic chairs back in the 50’s or 60’s, but had misplaced it (most likely when she moved to Canada). When she spotted the chairs again here in the city, she just fell in love with them. Emil wound up finding this one in a dumpster and brought it home for her, knowing how much it would mean to her. It was an amazing find, as a vintage shell chair like this can sell for upwards of four or five hundred dollars…sometimes more! But Emil seemed much more interested in the personal significance the chair holds, than in it’s monetary value. “These chairs have been part of our family for a really long time,” says Emil.

Emil had recently moved into his first apartment and his mom encouraged him to take the chair with him. He had been using it as his desk chair, but joked that he wouldn’t be doing that anymore, not after Eames signed it. Just in our brief interaction with Emil, it was clear that his love for these chairs and the Eameses legacy runs deep. We know that Emil’s not the only one who feels this way.

Feb 21, 2014

We had heard a lot about Winnipeg-based designers Karen Hare and Jason Hare. The couple met while studying Environmental Design at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture. Karen was majoring in Interior Design, and Jason in Architecture, but they crossed paths when Jason enrolled in an Interior Design Studio course. Since then, they’ve completed their degrees, gotten jobs, and gotten married; and, now they’re busy crafting beautiful wood furniture and other small objects in the downtown studio they share with a couple of friends.

Karen and Jason love the suprises that come from working with a living material. Their designs are typically made out of local species, often using wood labeled as non-select. “You get all of these wonderful quirks and knots, and you can open it up and discover something,” says Karen. Both her and Jason see these imperfections as an opportunity and allow the wood to define their design direction.

Take, for example, the gorgeous bench sitting in one corner of their studio. Karen found the plank that now acts as the bench’s top. “It had this lovely little dip in it,” she recalls. So she brought it home, knowing intuitively that the natural scoop of the board would make a good seat. “Karen has a really great understanding of material language,” says Jason, “like its relationship to other forms within a composition. Even the texture or colour of two different types of wood coming together, and the reasoning between using a leg for one and then the top of a bench for another, and why they come together so well.”

Jason designed a compression joint that would attach the legs and top without glue or additional hardware.

The couple describes themselves as designers by degree, but makers by heart and this philosophy is very evident in the way they approach each project. For them, making and design cannot be separated. “It might have something to do with the nature of the material we’re working with. If things are…unique, you want to be involved right there with the material because if it presents itself something new and you miss it, then you didn’t take advantage of what it could have possibly been,” says Jason.

In fact, their creative process seems as natural as the material they work with. “I don’t have a method,” says Jason. And, Karen agrees, “He’s just curious. He’s the most curious person I know and I think so many great things come out of his curiosity and just wanting to figure something out or just wanting to play around.” Karen, on the other hand, describes herself as a beauty hoarder. “I’ll just find pieces (of wood) that I just love and keep them. And, finally I’ll have the idea for what they’re going to become and I’ll make it.”

This pair of hook or “crook” knives are Karen’s favourite tool. They were a Christmas gift from Jason. He bought the metal hook from Lee Valley and carved the wood handles himself.

Karen and Jason are currently working on a set of wood pendant lights for a restaurant in New York City. The restaurant commissioned the lights after seeing their original prototypes, which they entered into the Shade International Lighting Competition (which we blogged about here). The lights received an award and were featured on several popular design blogs.

Here’s a quick look at the process:

While they each have their own projects, Karen and Jason are always discussing them and coming up with design solutions together. If one of them sets a project aside, the other will pick it up. Most creatives would be offended by that, but Karen and Jason find that projects turn out better when they each have a hand in the design. “You see the beautiful result of the two things coming together and you’re like, okay, this has to continue,” says Karen.

And, we agree! We look forward to seeing many more beautiful designs from these two in the future. Check out their Tumblr site hareandhare.tumblr.com to see a selection of their recent work.

Feb 19, 2014

We were thrilled when these photos from the latest issue of Décormag arrived in our inbox last week. The article “Un bungalow pas comme les autres,” which can be loosely translated as “a bungalow like no other,” features the beautiful interior renovation of a fifties yellow-brick bungalow in Saint-Lambert, Québec.

Homeowner Louis Lachapelle and his wife Amelia “have a weakness for this kind of architecture,”¹ and they’ve transformed the existing architecture into a light-filled, modern home that’s perfect for their young family. We love how Louis and Amelia incorporated iconic pieces from the EQ3+ product line, such as the EQ3+ Herman Miller Nelson Platform Bench, in their open-concept kitchen/dining area. They look right at home with the couple’s mid-century modern aesthetic.

About This Blog

Welcome to Inhabit!

At EQ3, we love to explore Canada's design, art and culture scene. And, we want to share that with you.

You'll find designer interviews, learn about different crafts, and discover new books and films to read or watch. You'll find other fun things too, like blogger home tours, music playlists, freebie printables, and contest announcements, as well as EQ3 behind the scenes footage, product intros and more.

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